WTF? Sunday...4/2/2017

So...

...who's #7?

The FINAL Suicide Squad trailer...with extras

Please note: both Adorkette and Mrs. Adorkification are itchin' to see this one.

You know what's comin'...

• I'm betting at least half of the Joker stuff is flashback as part of Harley's character development.
• The entire third act will be the Squad taking down whatever it is they were set up for...with Batman and Joker along for the ride.
• Every single one of those character bits following the trailer were genius. Every. One. Harley likes Puddin? Joker's favorite joke is Batman? Enchantress (making it Amora in Thor: Ragnarok I'm guessing?) is 6313 years young? F**king brilliant. And you can't keep me from buying "The Balloom Blitz" by Sweet (The Sweet?). No f**king way.

However...having said that...

Every single one of those bits can be explained it two words: 

DEAD. 

POOL. 

There's no f**king way these things weren't influenced by the success of that movie. You wanted to know what those post-production re-shoots were about? You're looking at them. Well, at least some of them...

The Wonder Woman Trailer...

THAT WAS SICK!

Holy f**king crap. Summer 2017. DAMN!

Okay...okay. Whew. My thoughts:

• LOVED the look of the lasso. Seems to act more like a whip than a lasso, but the glowing? F**KING BRILLIANT!
• I've mentioned before that I understand why they went with WWI instead of WWII. It totally works to separate it from Captain America. Especially since she's also using a shield.
• Her using a shield. It may be shaped like Captain America's, but that's it. She uses hers in a totally different way. Like a sled...A F**KING SLED!
• And how about those fight scenes. It feels like Captain America meets 300, but I'm not complaining. At all. 
• Two words: Etta. Candy. They had Diana. They had Steve. They didn't have to have Etta. They did anyway. Awesome.
• I didn't see an invisible plane...but that doesn't mean there isn't an invisible plane. Get me?
• Where is Lynda Carter? (*ahem*) I said...WHERE? IS? LYNDA? CARTER?

So. The Justice League trailer...

HOLY. F**KING. S#!T

First of all, I have yet to see Batman v Superman: The Director's Cut (or whatever it's called). Second, Ben's Batman was awesome. Even in the theatrical release. Third, this trailer alone has more humor in it than the entirety of the theatrical release. I'll even say that if this teaser was released in theaters...and people had to buy a ticket to see it...it would make more coin worldwide than BvS did. This is the s#!t. This is what I've always wanted the DCEU to be.

However...

...I just wish the DC/WB/DCEU would commit.

Just commit.

COMMIT DAMMIT!

If they just explained on Grant Gustin's Flash that his actions opened the portals to 51 other universes, and the DCEU was in fact one of them, that would be FINE! 

Until then, we're gonna have fans argue and debate over which Flash is the true Flash...or the real one...or whatever. And while healthy debate among fans is great advertising,

do they really wanna risk a rift in their fan base?

'Cause we all know what could happen when dealing with divided supporters.

Just sayin'...

Batman V Superman...The Spoiler-Filled Review

Hey Pepe. I know it's not Monday, but LET'S TALK MOVIES!

Especially this one. First of all,

time to grab a knife and fork.

After listening to several reviews, I was surprised when Mrs. Adorkification confessed to me that she wanted to see the film. 

But being the loving husband I am, I agreed. And I have to admit - it was better that I expected.

Now now...let me explain before you tear my head off.

As much as I disagree with the look and direction of the DCCU, the first thing this film told me was that both DC Comics and Warner Brothers are committed to it. They may have taken comments and reviews from MoS to heart, but anything they've altered to appease fans must have been done through dialogue and scene elements. The tone, the visuals, the scope of the DCCU were staying the same. They didn't suddenly change everything (like director or writer or set design) to "shut the fans up". They didn't waffle. They weren't wishy-washy. And despite my personal opinions about this Universe, I respect that.

On to the film. Ahead there be spoilers. Starting with...

...Batman's origin

Did we really need to see it? Again? No. But that's not what this was. This was the DCCU version of Batman's origin being told for the first time. That's important - 

because anyone who's read DC Comics over the past several decades knows that if nothing else, the guys and gals over there tend to shake things up. Often.

Which is what I've been sayin' all along.

Then there's the connection to MoS.

Setting aside the unnecessary damage that battle caused, I understand why they showed it again here:

• They needed an event to bridge both (and possibly future) movies. I wouldn't be surprised at all if that fight comes up again in Wonder Woman, Flash, or Cyborg.
• They needed to show the fight from ground level to give that entire scene an everyman perspective. It just so happens that the 'everyman' here was Batman.

Speaking of Batman...

This version, both directly and indirectly, killed. A lot. And even though (like in Harry Tasker's case) "they were all bad", the Batman that I know doesn't kill. Ever. So why have him go that dark here?

There's your answer.

When Jason Todd died in the books, Bruce went dark. He went gritty. Borderline The Dark Knight Returns gritty. He didn't kill or carry a gun, but he thought less and fought more. It wasn't until Tim Drake entered Bruce's world that he started seeing the brighter side of life again. 

However, it would have been nice if Snyder And Co. cut Batman's origin (for use in the future Batman stand-alone film) and added a flashback/dream with Robin to drive home the point, because that 8/10 of a second of screen time wasn't enough for those not-in-the-know.

Now. About the gun.

He needed it. The Batmobile had 'em. So did the Batwing. Those could be explained away because of Robin's death. He even used a rifle earlier in the film to plant the tracer (which kinda made no sense, but that's another issue). The gun he used here was needed to fire the kryptonite gas necessary to fight Superman. Without the gas, Bruce would have gotten his a$$ kicked every time he was within arm's reach of Clark. You know how I know? Because every time Bruce was within arm's reach of Clark, he got his a$$ kicked...until the gas kicked in. Plus, he needed it against Doomsday.

Now for the Superman part.

I get that he scares people s#!tless to the point of forcing him to appear before Congress to address his actions and their consequences...

 ...sound familiar?...

...but it bugged me that no one was pissed about Metropolis. He was called upon to answer for his actions in Africa? 

The Hell?

Anyway, his walk through the building - in full costume - made me feel for the guy, because he looked a bit ridiculous in full garb surrounded by "regular people". But all that went away as he quietly (and gently) opened the gate to walk up to the podium. That spoke volumes to me.

Here's a guy who doesn't need this crap. He didn't have to be there, and he certainly didn't need to walk through that gate. He could have flown over it. But he didn't. He wouldn't. To me, that's Superman. I was also surprised that he wasn't blamed for blowing up the building. 

It was all part of Luthor's plan.

For the record - I hate Kryptonite. I know why they created it in the radio show, and I know why it exists in the books, but in live-action stuff (including television) it's a cop-out. It screams "we don't know how to make this all-powerful character more interesting and relatable to fans, so we'll just write this rock into the thing to make it all better". Which...Is...

But having said that, 

it made sense that Lex would use Kryptonite to create a weapon that could kill Superman. It also made sense that Batman would steal said Kryptonite from Luthor to weaponize in order to kill Superman. What I didn't expect was that Luthor was behind getting Batman to want to kill Superman. Coercing Clark to fight Batman by kidnapping Martha was typical Luthor, but how would Lex know that Batman would fight back? With the Kryptonite?

Exactly...

And in all my years as a comic fan, I never realized that Bruce's and Clark's mothers shared the same name.

I know...I know...

Then there's Lois' underuse in this film.

She could have interviewed Superman. She could have interviewed Bruce. She sure as s#!t shouldn't have given away that precious bullet that seemed so important for only the first half of the film. But all was forgiven during the fight with Doomsday.

She saved Superman. Not Clark. Superman. 

How could he hear Lois' struggle during all of that fighting? He loves her. I can hear my wife's voice in a crowded room. That gets a pass. But when he saved her from drowning, and she told him where the spear was, he went in after it - knowing it's Kryptonite. Lois stayed there, and when he was drowning because of the Kryptonite, she saved him. That was the best use of Lois in the movie ('cause Clark could have easily said "It's my mother's name!"), and the single best use of Kryptonite I've ever seen.

Okay. It had a ring of Superman: The Movie to it...but it was Lois this time, making it more of a moment.

How about that Wonder Woman intro?

I liked that she didn't "suit up" until the final battle. And she kicked a$$. I admit to feeling a Xena vibe to the point of expecting her to throw her shield all chakram-like, but I'm glad she didn't. I also liked that she was photographed back in World War I instead of the 1940's.

Which would have been too on the nose, even though it would have been accurate.

Plus, it was just enough for me to want to see Wonder Woman, so...points for that.

But more would have been better.

As for the rest of the League,

I'm not a fan of the casting decision for Flash. I don't know Ezra Miller from anything, and am probably too used to Grant Gustin in the suit. Plus, his use here in the video footage stopping the robbery was 'meh' at best. If that was him telling Bruce about Lois, they should have at least made his outfit more visible.

Jason Momoa doesn't look a thing like Arthur Curry, so who knows what that's about, but I'm willing to see what they do with him. His cameo here was only slightly better than Miller's.

Ray Fisher's Cyborg cameo was the best. He didn't have any lines other than a yell, but I'd see that movie too.

Like it or hate it, the DCCU's here to stay. So we better get used to it.

I'm not gonna knock it just because it's DC...like that one guy we overheard talking to his friend as we left the theater - 

Guy #2 "So, what did you think? Worth it?"

Guy #1 "Not at all."

Guy #2 "Really?"

Guy #1: "Just goes to show that Marvel's good and DC sucks."

The debate continues...

Monday Movie Roundup...3/28/2016

Morning Pepe!

So...what have you heard?

Yeah - it's made $170 million in the U.S. and $254 million elsewhere. It's the second top grossing film worldwide (at $424 million) featuring Superman (behind Man of Steel's $668 million), and the third top grossing film worldwide featuring Batman (behind The Dark Knight Rises' $1.084 Billion, and The Dark Knight's $1.003 Billion). 

But here's the thing - is it any good?

I haven't seen it yet, even though I know I eventually will, but I have no desire to see it in theaters.

I know! 

In fact, I don't really have a burning desire to see any future installments of the DCCU. And who's fault is that?

Well...okay, he's part of it,

but Marvel Studios has the lion's share.

Their movies are too good.

Setting aside the fact that Marvel's films (and Netflix stuff) focus on character - and true, Marvel's still working on bringing in more non-white male characters - their stories are better, and better told. 

According to what I've been hearing, anyway. 

Not only that, 

My Superman isn't the Man of Steel Superman.

THIS is My Superman.

And no amount of them telling me who Superman is will change that.

So yeah it made money, and will most likely continue to do so...but you can't make me see it in theaters.

Have a good week Pepe!